Michael Johnston: Who needs reality anyway?

I remember Primary School maths as being about learning to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Once we had learned those things, we took on fractions and decimals.

There was geometry too, of course. By the Intermediate years we were tackling algebra and trigonometry.

But a brave new era is dawning in mathematics education. We no longer need all that so-called ‘objective’ arithmetic. And who says a triangle must have three sides?

Lee Ohanian: Is Math Education Racist?

Seattle schools propose to teach that Math Education is racist—will California be far behind?

California’s latest K–12 test scores were released earlier this month. Despite spending 26 percent more per pupil after inflation since 2011, test scores remain low, and improvement is proceeding at a glacial pace. Just 40 percent of California schoolchildren are proficient at math. 

What should be done? Seattle’s idea is to teach their students that US math education is racist, is used to oppress people of color and the disadvantaged, and has been used to exploit natural resources.